AID News for Feb 26 2004
aid...@aidindia.org
AID News for Thu Feb 26 2004
AID News for Thu Feb 26, 2004
-->
AID News for Thu Feb 26, 2004
Good Afternoon
Today's Headlines
1) SSP Oustees: A Game of Numbers
2) Call / Email for Bhopal
3) Traveling Film South Asia 2004
Today's News
1) SSP Oustees: A Game of Numbers
Press Note - February 23, 2004
Will Uma Bharti Represent the People of the Narmada Valley?
Or Will Raise in Dam Height Expose BJP Politics?
Undercounting of PAFs and Lack of SSP Rehabilitation in M.P.:
A Game of Numbers
In the Narmada Control Authority meetings of January 29th and February
12th, Chief Minister Uma Bharti expressed her willingness to allow for
further construction of the SSP dam height up to 110m. While Maharashtra--
which has only a tenth of the oustees of Madhya Pradesh--has acknwoledged
that rehabilitation is incomplete at the 110m level and refused to consent
to a height increase, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has joined Gujarat
in claiming that all Project Affected Families (PAFs) up to 110 m have been
rehabilitated. Last week, protests by adivasi oustees in Gujarat outside
of the Kevadia Colony dam offices exposed the falsity of Gujarat's claims
that no PAFs remain to be rehabilitated. Furthermore, it is abundantly
clear that rehabilitation according to the Narmada Waters Dispute Tribunal
Award (NWDTA) and Supreme Court decisions is even farther from complete in
Madhya Pradesh. In the upcoming NCA decision--most likely to take palce on
March 4th--Madhya Pradesh will again be tested as to whether it is willing
to violate the law and rights of oustees by allowing for further
construction.
Unjustifiably, GoMP has been deleting people from its PAF list with the
stroke of a pen. Amazingly, the government has reduced the number of
families it claims to be affected at 110m by 4,000 over the period of a
year. It appears that GoMP is justifying this reduction by making an
artificial distinction between ^Ópermanently^Ô and ^Ótemporarily^Ô affected
persons. The latter are denied rehabilitation even though their crops will
be totally destroyed whether flooded temporarily or permanently. This
distinction has no basis in the NWDTA or subsequent Supreme Court decisions
and callously violates the rights of oustees.
GoMP has furthermore excluded hundreds of families of major sons, which
under the NWDTA are to be given land compensation. It has also failed to
update land titles, which are extremely out of date in tribal areas,
leaving many more people off its PAF list. Moreover, it has failed to
recognize the rights of untitled tribal lands--which have been cultivated
for generations--thus treating thousands of small farmers as landless.
Faulty level surveys have further excluded entire hamlets of people whose
lands and homes are affected by the dam's floodwaters.
Meanwhile, GoMP has failed to provide the PAFs it does recognize with a
single acre of adequate cultivable land in the state. Whether unwilling or
unable to properly rehabilitate PAFs, the government is forcing them to
accept land in Gujarat (which in many cases is uncultivable) or take
inadequate and illegal cash compensation. In many cases, as shown, it is
simply deleting them on paper.
As a result, it is estimated that in the event of a high rainfall at the
110m dam height, at least 10,000 families who are habitating in the
submergence area to date could be affected, having their houses and fields
submerged. Under these conditions, it is thus essential that political
incentives to increase the dam height not be allowed to override the legal
and human rights of those who are paying the large human costs of the SSP.
To make such a decision would also violate the promise given in writing by
elected BJP MLA's that no consent would be given until rehabilitation is
incomplete. Moreoever, we call upon Chief Minister Uma Bharti to make good
on her pledge given to an NBA delegation that Medha Patkar be allowed to
attend the Chief Minister's meeting to represent the affected people. We
call upon the government to uphold its promises and the rights of its
citizens living along the Narmada. It is clear, given the current situation
of rehabilitation in M.P., that any authorization for further construction
at this time would be both illegal and morally unjustifiable.
From the Narmada Bachao Andolan
2) Call / Email for Bhopal
THE WORLD'S WORST-EVER INDUSTRIAL DISASTER devastated the Indian city of
Bhopal nearly 20 years ago, in 1984. More than half a million people were
exposed to the deadly gas released from a Union Carbide factory there; of
those, 20,000 have died and 150,000 were maimed.
For the people of Bhopal the toxic legacy of Union Carbide is far from
over. Thanks to Carbide's reckless dumping of chemical wastes, the drinking
water supply for 20,000 Bhopal residents is dangerously contaminated with
organochlorines, mercury, and other chemicals known to cause cancer and
birth defects. The breast milk of mothers in these communities is heavily
contaminated.
On average, gas victims in Bhopal received no more than $500 as compensation for lifelong injuries, while more than $300 million remains
undistributed in the settlement fund. The exposed people have a legal right
to receive this money, but any distribution requires the cooperation of the
Indian government.
YOU CAN HELP STOP THE CONTINUING DISASTER IN BHOPAL!!! On Tuesday,
February 24, survivors groups from Bhopal have asked for people to call,
write, or email the Indian Government to demand that it:
a) DISTRIBUTE THE BALANCE OF THE SETTLEMENT FUND to the Bhopal victims;
b) PROVIDE SAFE DRINKING WATER to people in the communities that are
contaminated by Union Carbide.
The survivors of the Bhopal disaster have identified both of these goals as
priorities for the upcoming year, and they've asked for the support of
people in the United States because the Indian Government has been
particularly responsive to such pressure in the past. On February 24th,
please take a few moments of your time to call the Indian embassy AND
consulates (listed below) and urge them to take action for the people of
Bhopal.
Call the Indian Embassy in Washington DC at (202) 939-7065 and ask to
register your comments with the press department.
Call the New York Consulate and leave a voicemail for the Consul of
Press and Politics at (212) 734-4980 and/or email the Consul General of NY
at c...@indiacgny.org. You can also fax directly to the Consul General at
(212) 988-6423.
Call the Chicago Consul General's office directly at (312) 595-0412,
and/or email the Consul General at c...@indianconsulate.com.
Call the San Francisco Consul General's office directly at (451)
668-0998, and/or email the Consul General at C...@Indianconsulate-sf.org.
Call the Houston Consul General's office directly at (713) 626-3153,
and/or email the Consul General at cgi...@swbell.net.
If you are a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or Non-Resident Indian
(NRI) call the office of the Ambassador-at-Large of PIOs and NRIs at (212)
478-7777 or email that office at Griev...@Indianambatlarge.com.
Note: The Government of India is generally most responsive to
Indian-Americans, so if you are an Indian-American, please identify
yourself as such.
Please let us know that you participated and what response you received.
You can do so by calling (781) 424-5262 or emailing MLeh...@aol.com.
For more information about the disaster or the campaign, please visit
www.studentsforbhopal.org.
Contributed by Rajesh Veeraraghavan
3) Traveling Film South Asia 2004
A festival of 19 compelling documentary films from
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
March 12 - 21, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco
March 26 - 28, India Community Center, Milpitas
Charting the complexities, diversity and dynamism of
South Asia, these documentary films are unified in
their search for untold stories and buried histories,
and provide a unique and moving perspective into the
myriad and rapidly changing cultures and countries
of South Asia.
Organized by EKTA and Friends of South Asia in
collaboration with Himal Association.
Sponsored by the Center for South Asian Studies at
the University of California Berkeley; the Department
of Cultural and Social Anthropology at the California
Institute for Integral Studies; and the India
Community Center.
For further information, please visit
http://ektaonline.org/tfsa
Contributed by Aniruddha Vaidya
That's it for the day
-Hema
P.S. The AID News archives are available at AID News website
http://www.aidindia.org/hq/publications/aid_news.htm
P.P.S. Please visit the AID News site for more details on addition,
subtraction from the list and also to send in comments or if you
prefer email, the editor's email id is
aid...@aidindia.org
P.P.P.S. Access articles quoted in AID News: AID News Links Page
http://www.aidindia.org/links/
P.P.P.P.S. Disclaimers - The views expressed in AID News, including
disclaimers, are not necessarily those of AID. Chapter, BoD or EB
decisions are sometimes conveyed in AID News. The views of the
editor do not necessarily reflect those of AID and the views
expressed by others do not necessarily reflect those of the editor.
=cut